Wednesday, December 2, 2015 (3:15 p.m. in Yost 306)

Title: Time-Series from Ventilated Patients and Dynamics of the Pulmonary Infection/Immunity Process

Speaker: Todd Young (Professor of Mathematics, Ohio University)

Abstract: We have developed the capability to acquire and analyze exhaled fluid from the lungs of ventilated patients. The fluid can contain pathogens and pathogen secreted products. The same method can also provide information about the state of the patients innate and adaptive immune response. This data can be collected quickly, non-invasively and at relatively low cost so that it may become practical to provide doctors with patient time series. We hope to combine these in-host data with modeling to study the infection and immune response processes of ventilator associated pneumonia. Our primary interest is to predict which patients will progress to develop pneumonia prior to the manifestation of clinical symptoms. Using the data to study the human pulmonary immune system is a possible by-product of the method. I will discuss clinical and laboratory results and plans, as well as results from low-dimensional modeling of pulmonary infection and immunity.